League Rules & Guidelines

[zombie jesus]

 

[Sans Souci Sainter]

 The ultimate goal is to win the Mark Davis Mangina Trophy in the Super BowlCut in week 16.

PMSL!!!

 

[zombie jesus]

[1.0 LEAGUE ADMINISTRATION]

[1.1 Goals and Purpose]
Welcome to FOSDL, the Factories of Sadness Dynasty League. This is a 14-team league that was formed in 2016 by a group of owners who all post on the League Unlimited (LU) forums. This league is considered a friendly league; however, all owners are expected to pay a league fee to cover the costs of the league scoring/hosting site before the draft begins each season. This league is designed to be a competition between owners, but it is not a cut-throat league where anything goes. The rules described below are designed to act as a guideline for overall league play, and any disputes will be handled by the executive committee of the league. Please remember that the overall goal of this league is to have fun and enjoy the game of football. If you have any question or concerns, please do not hesitate to ask.

[1.2 Executive Committee]
The executive committee for the FOSDL for 2015 consists of:

• Co-Commissioner – abpanther
• Co-Commissioner – zombie jesus

The executive committee will be responsible for resolving all disputes that are not expressly covered by this document. If a committee member is involved in the dispute, that member will excuse themselves from the decision process. While all owners are encouraged to submit suggestions to the committee, the committee's decision on all matters is final.

[1.3 Living Document]
It is important to note that this is a living, breathing document that will change and evolve over the lifetime of this league. Changes will happen between seasons as often as possible and will be effective from that point moving forward. If you have suggestions for changes, please submit them to one of the executive committee members or post in the “Rules Suggestions” thread on the LU forum.

[1.4 League Financing]
The FOSDL league fee for 2021 will be $7.00 from each owner. This fee covers the cost of the league scoring/hosting software.

This fee is due before the rookie draft begins.

 

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[2.0 LEAGUE SETUP AND COMPETITION]

[2.1 Basic League Structure]

• 14 teams will placed into 1 division.
• Each team will play each other once through weeks 1-13 of the NFL regular season.
• 6 teams will make the championship playoffs conducted through weeks 14-16 of the NFL regular season.
• The ultimate goal is to win the Mark Davis Mangina Trophy in the Super BowlCut in week 16.
• 8 teams will participate in consolation playoffs to determine draft order for the following season.
• Each team will have a maximum active roster of 34 players, with the addition of 5 Development Squad players and unlimited IR slots.
• A salary cap of $200,000 will apply.
• Player value will be determined by the initial auction draft, future rookie drafts, unrestricted free agency, franchise tagging, transition tagging, restricted free agency and contract renegotiations.
• Each player will be assigned a contract length by their respective owner.
• As in the real NFL, there may be penalties against the salary cap for cutting a player before the final year of his contract.

[2.2 Owners]

• The league will have 14 owners and an alternate list will be made if extra owners are available.
• The only specification for ownership shall be active membership at the LU forum or the league Whatsapp group.
• If two owners agree, co-ownership will be allowed.
• If an owner decides to abandon ownership of their team a substitute owner will be found from the alternate list.
• If an owner is classified an absentee owner, an owner is involved in collusion, or an owner's participation is inadequate, a league vote can be called for by the executive committee or any two owners. A majority is required to replace an owner. If the league votes to replace an owner a new owner will be taken off the alternate list.

In case of a family emergency or when an owner knows they will be unable to handle their team for a set period of time, an owner has two alternatives. In either case the owner must alert the executive committee before the current week's game. Then the player may either choose to have a stand-in owner manage their team or use the weekly player rankings at http://www.footballguys.com. If a stand-in owner is requested someone from the LU forum will be selected by the executive committee to run the team until the owner returns. That stand-in will only be able to select starting line-ups, however, and will not be able to trade or add/drop players.

[2.3 Absentee Owners]
Any owner not submitting or changing a line-up for two consecutive weeks becomes an absentee owner. If the league web-hosting site or software automatically carries starting line-ups over from the previous week, rosters do not have to be changed. Starting a player on bye or on IR, however, then qualifies for absentee owner status. Additionally, any owner not responding to or participating in preseason activities such as free agency and the draft shall also be designated an absentee. That owner is then subject to immediate replacement.

A $10,000 cap penalty (per infraction, applied to the current year with no deferred penalty) will be imposed for owners who do not actively participate in the league. This includes (but is not limited to) not participating in rule discussion, not voting on rule changes, not submitting line-ups, starting injured players or players on bye weeks and not participating in offseason activities such as free agency.

[2.4 Rosters and Starting Line-Ups]
During the season, each team is permitted to have 34 active players, 2 Development Squad players and 3 players on the Injured Reserve list.

A roster will consist of 17 starters and 17 bench players as follows:

1 Quarterback
2 Running Backs
2 Wide Receivers
1 Tight End
2 RB/WR/TE Flex
3 DE/DT
3 Linebackers
3 CB/S
1 IDP Flex
16 Bench Players

All position designations are determined by the league site.

[2.5 League Scoring]
Scoring is fractional to 2 decimal places and determined by the league site.

QB/RB/WR/TE Scoring
Number of Passing TDs - 4 points each
Passing Yards - 0.04 point for every 1
Pass Interceptions Thrown - -2 points each
Passing 2 Pointers - 2 points each
Number of Rushing TDs - 6 points each
Rushing Yards - 0.1 point for every 1
Rushing 2 Pointers - 2 points each
Number of Receiving TDs - 6 points each
Receiving Yards - 0.1 point for every 1
Receptions - 1 point each
Receiving 2 Pointers - 2 points each
Fumbles Lost (to Opponent) - -1 point each

DE/DT Scoring
Fumble Recoveries (from Opponent) - 2 points each
Opponent Fumble Recovery Yards - 0.1 point for every 1
Forced Fumbles - 4 points each
Interceptions Caught - 6 points each
Interception Return Yards - 0.1 point for every 1
Passes Defensed - 2.5 points each
Defensive Tackles - 1.5 points each
Defensive Assists - 0.75 points each
Sacked a QB - 4 points each
Sacked a QB Yardage - 0.2 point for every 1
Quarterback Hits - 1 point each
Tackles for a Loss - 1.5 points each
Safeties - 4 points each
Number of Defensive TDs - 8 points each

LB Scoring
Fumble Recoveries (from Opponent) - 2 points each .
Opponent Fumble Recovery Yards -0 .1 point for every 1
Forced Fumbles - 4 points each
Interceptions Caught - 6 points each
Interception Return Yards - 0.1 point for every 1
Passes Defensed - 2 points each
Defensive Tackles - 1 point each
Defensive Assists - 0.5 points each
Sacked a QB - 4 points each
Sacked a QB Yardage - 0.2 point for every 1
Quarterback Hits - 1 point each
Tackles for a Loss - 1.5 points each
Safeties - 4 points each
Number of Defensive TDs - 8 points each

CB/S Scoring
Fumble Recoveries (from Opponent) - 2 points each
Opponent Fumble Recovery Yards - 0.1 point for every 1
Forced Fumbles - 4 points each
Interceptions Caught - 6 points each
Interception Return Yards - 0.1 point for every 1
Passes Defensed - 2 points each
Defensive Tackles - 1.5 points each
Defensive Assists - 0.75 points each
Sacked a QB - 6 points each
Sacked a QB Yardage - 0.2 point for every 1
Quarterback Hits - 1 point each
Tackles for a Loss - 1.5 points each
Safeties - 4 points each
Number of Defensive TDs - 8 points each

All Scoring
Number of punt return TDs – 6 points each
Number of kick return TDs – 6 points each
Number of offensive fumble recovery TDs – 6 points each

[2.6 Voting, Rule Changes, and Disputes]

• Rule changes can be proposed by owners in the off-season before the draft or free agency begins.
• Commissioner will have discretion over rule changes, however, all changes will be put to the league before being actioned.
• This league will always be a keeper, contract, and salary cap league. Modifications to those systems may be made, but owners cannot vote to eliminate those basic characteristics from the league.
• In cases of rules interpretation or disputes the executive committee has the authority to make a ruling.
• When a problem comes up that isn't clearly addressed in the rules the executive committee will either make a decision if it is a unique situation, or propose the league vote to create a new rule addressing the situation.
• In such a case any immediately affected owners do not receive votes.
• Any decisions made by the executive committee are final.

[2.7 Dumping and Collusion]

• Under no circumstances will player dumping or collusion be allowed.
• Any trades that clearly benefit only one team or the intentional submission of a non-competitive line-up both qualify as collusion.
• Any such actions can be grounds for immediate removal from the league.
• If any owner suspects such actions they may request the executive committee to investigate.
• If the executive committee find the actions of any owner against the best interests of their team then the offending owner may be removed or subject to disciplinary action.
• Any disciplinary action short of removal from the league will be left up to the discretion of the executive committee.
• Removal from the league will require a majority vote from the rest of the owners.
• The normal penalty for a team involved in illegal activity but not removed from the league will be a forfeiture of draft picks and/or salary cap penalties.

**While it may be tempting to submit non-competitive line-ups once your team is eliminated from the playoff hunt, this is not fair to the rest of the league. A team intentionally throwing games throws off the competitive balance of the league, and can severely alter the chances of teams in the playoff hunt. This is a friendly league, so please be fair to the rest of the league and give it your best even if you're not playing for anything.

[2.8 Typical League Timeline]
(All times are only approximate and time limits will be put in place for each stage).

• Sometime after the Superbowl - Rollback day. All contracts are cycled back by one year.
• After rollback day and before UFA begins – Franchise and transition tags, contract renegotiations, 5th year options, development squad promotions and restricted free agent designation.
• Rookie draft begins.
• Unrestricted free agency begins.
• Contract years and types to be assigned.
• Free agency blind bid waivers once a week until season kick-off if time permits.

 

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[3.0 SALARY CAP]

• Each team has a salary cap of $200,000.00 each season.
• Unused salary cap value DOES NOT carry over season-to-season.
• Total salary cap is calculated via the yearly values of each contracted player plus any cap penalties that may have been incurred.
• Players on IR receive a 25% discount towards the cap, however, cutting players from IR still invokes the full salary cap penalty amount if applicable.
• Development squad players do not count towards the salary cap.
• Salary cap room and salary cap penalties cannot be traded.
• The salary cap can be breached when making roster moves; however, corrections must be made within 24 hours to become cap compliant, failure to do so will result in penalties.

[3.1 Managing the Salary Cap]

• There is no maximum salary.
• The minimum salary is $1000.00
• For ease of calculations, all salaries must be factors of 500, i.e. $5,500, $6,000 etc.

[3.2 Assigning Contracts]

• Players acquired through the off season UFA must be assigned a contract length of up to 5 years.
• Players acquired through blind bidding are assigned a 1-year contract and are subject to restricted free agency the following season.
• Players acquired through first come, first serve waivers automatically receive a 1 year contract.

[3.3 Salary Cap Penalties]

[3.3.1 Cutting Players]

• All players carry a 25% cap penalty.
• Should a player be cut before the expiration of their contract, the cap penalty will be multiplied by the years remaining to determine the full amount.
• During the off season, the penalty is immediately assessed to the current year’s salary cap.
• In-season, the penalty is split over the current season (20%) and the following season (80%).
• During the off season, all newly acquired players (draft or UFA) are designated a 1-year fully guaranteed contract until contract years have been assigned and before blind bid waivers begin.

[3.3.2 Breaching the Cap]

• All owners have 24 hours to become cap complaint should a recent acquisition put them over the salary cap or contracted player limit.
• The penalty for breaching the salary cap or roster limit is $5,000 for every day a team is in breach with the full amount to be assessed to the current season cap.
• If the salary cap is still in breach after 4 days, the transaction that put the team over will be reversed and the salary cap penalties will still stand.

[3.4 Out of League Clause]
Any player retiring or permanently removed from the NFL due to disciplinary or legal trouble may be cut without penalty.

 

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[4.0 OFF SEASON ACTIVITY]

[4.1 Drafting]
The initial draft rules will only be enacted for the inaugural season of the league; every season thereafter will follow the rookie draft procedures.

[4.1.1 Initial Auction Draft]

• The initial league draft is set to start on Monday, June 20 at 10:00am AEST.
• The draft shall be held at the league site.
• The initial draft shall be a slow auction draft.
• Up to 20 players will be nominated at any one time; this may increase to speed up the draft process.
• Bidding will start at $1000.00.
• Bid increments are to be made in groups of $500.00 until the high bid reaches $10,000.00.
• Any bids over $10,000.00 must be increased in groups of $1000.00.
• An auction will be considered complete when the highest bid has not changed in 24 hours.
• A player will then be added to the winning team’s roster and their salary deducted from their winning team’s salary cap.
• During the auction a team’s salary cap number will be equal to any contracted players plus any active bids to ensure owners do not breach the cap.
• At the completion of the draft, all owners will assign a number of contract years for each player on their roster. The individual contract limit is 5 years and team limit is 80 years.

After the initial draft, player acquisitions for the rest of the season shall be handled by free agency rules. The initial draft setup is only going to be used to get the league up and running.

[4.1.2 Rookie Draft]

• The yearly draft for the league shall be a rookie-only draft consisting of 6 rounds.
• The rookie draft will be completed before the UFA period.
• There is a 24 hour clock for each pick which may be adjusted to move the draft along.
• Owners are encouraged to use the “My Draft List” tool on the league site to ensure a pick is not missed.
• If no player is selected the pick will be skipped until the owner posts a message on the LU forum indicating the player he wishes to select.
• Once this post is made the player is considered to have been drafted and no other owner should select that player. The commissioner will manually add the player to the roster of the team whose pick has been skipped.
• The salary of the player will correspond with the original draft slot.

The draft order will consist of a process according to if the owner “wins” in the playoffs.

[4.1.3 Rookie Contracts]
Rookie salaries are as follows for each draft slot:
1. $20,000
2. $18,000
3. $16.000
4. $14,000
5. $12,000
6. $10,000
7. $9,000
8. $8.000
9. $7,000
10. $6,000
11. $5,000
12. $4,000
13. $3,000
14. $2,000
The salary of second, third and fourth round picks is $1000.

• All rookies will receive a 4 year contract.
• First round rookie picks also come with a 5th year option. For tracking purposes, this will be noted on the league site by all first round picks receiving a contract year value of 4.5.
• The 5th year option must be taken up before UFA begins.

[4.1.4 Development Squad]

• Each team has five development squad places.
• Using these places is optional.
• To be eligible for the DS, a player must be an NFL player with no more than three years NFL experience.
• A player acquired through trade in the off-season may be placed on the developmental squad as long as they meet the above eligibility rules.
• When a player is a current season rookie and placed on the DS before the season begins, their contract status is removed. When they are promoted, they are assigned a new 2-year contract in accordance with the DS player salary schedule.
• Players can move to and from the DS throughout the season.
• Players promoted from the DS must remain on the active roster for three weeks.
• A DS player with no contract can be cut without penalty, if they have a contract, normal penalties apply.
• A DS player’s salary is determined by the following scale:

First year = 10% of the position’s transition tag
Second year = 15% of the position’s transition tag
Third year = 20% of the position’s transition tag
And so on.

[4.2 Transition and Franchise Tags]

• An owner can place the transition or franchise tag on one player, only one tag type can be used per off season.
• To enact a tag, the owner must post in the appropriate thread on the LU forums indicating as such to notify the league and allow bidding to take place.

[4.2.1 Franchise Tag]

• The value of the franchise tag is the average of the top 5 salaries (not including previous tagged players) at the position or 20% over the player’s current salary, whichever is greater.
• This is a tender offer that sets the starting point for bidding.
• The controlling owner has the right to match the highest bid.
• If the owner chooses not to match the high bid, the new owner gives up a 1st in the next draft and a 1st in the following draft.
• If an owner does not have those picks available, he/she cannot make a valid bid.
• If the new owner has multiple picks in a round, he/she gives up the highest available.
• If the player receives a bid and the controlling owner matches, the player can be signed for up to 5 years, same applies for the bidding owner.
• If no one bids on the player, the player is signed at the tender offer amount for 1 year.

[4.2.2 Transition Tag]

• The value of the transition tag is the average of the top 10 salaries (not including previous tagged players) at the position.
• This is a tender offer that sets the starting point for bidding.
• The controlling owner has the right to match the highest bid.
• If the owner chooses not to match the high bid, no compensation is awarded.
• If the player receives a bid and the controlling owner matches, the player can be signed for up to 5 years, same applies for the bidding owner.
• If no one bids on the player, the player is signed at the tender offer amount for 1 year.

[4.3 Contract Renegotiations]

• Each owner may renegotiate one contract each offseason.
• To renegotiate a player's contract, the owner must notify the league in the appropriate thread on the LU forum or Whatsapp
• The bidding process will take place on the league site, bidding will start at 50% of current salary.
• The owner may match the highest bid, but does not receive compensation if he/she chooses to let the player go.
• If the owner matches the highest bid, he/she may assign up to 5 contract years.
• If the player's contract is terminated prematurely, penalties will be assessed for that full amount.
• Any player finishing the season on the NFL IR list is not eligible for contract renegotiation.

[4.4 Restricted Free Agency]

• Each owner may apply the RFA tag to any player who was acquired through blind bid waivers the previous season.
• This is a 1-year designation at the existing salary.

[4.5 Unrestricted Free Agency]

• UFA will begin at a time to be determined and shall occur at the league site.
• UFA will be a slow auction draft.
• Up to 20 players will be nominated at any one time; this may increase to speed up the draft process.
• Bidding will start at $1000.00.
• Bid increments are to be made in groups of $500.00 until the high bid reaches $10,000.00.
• Any bids over $10,000.00 must be increased in groups of $1000.00.
• An auction will be considered complete when the highest bid has not changed in 24 hours.
• A player will then be added to the winning team’s roster and their salary deducted from their winning team’s salary cap.
• At the completion of the draft, all owners will assign a number of contract years for each player on their roster. The contract limit is 5 years.
• All players acquired during the off-season are considered to have 1-year of guaranteed money, no matter the type of contract. This rule expires once blind bidding begins.

 

[zombie jesus]

[5.0 IN SEASON ACTIVITY]

[5.1 Line-Up Setting]

• Line-ups will be carried over automatically by the league site week-to-week.
• Players are only locked in once their respective game commences.
• It is the responsibility of each owner to modify their line-up.
• Failure to set line-ups can result in an owner becoming an Absentee Owner, which can result in salary cap penalties.
• Teams submitting teams with illegal rosters (over the cap, over the roster limits) will score zero in that week’s game in conjunction with any other penalties that may apply.

[5.2 Acquiring Players]

• During the season a system of blind bidding and FCFS (first come first serve) waivers will be used for the waiver selection process of free agents.
• Any cuts made to accommodate an acquired player are subject to cap penalties.
• Should an acquisition place a team in breach of the salary cap or roster limits, roster moves must be made to fit in the newly acquired player before they can be cut.

[5.2.1 Blind Bid Waivers]

• Blind bidding will run through the league site.
• Bidding will open at the kick-off of NFL Sunday games.
• Bidding will close at 10:00pm AEST each Wednesday.
• Players will be added to the winning team’s roster after bidding closes.
• All players added via blind bidding receive a 1-year contract and are subject to RFA the following off season.

[5.2.2 First Come First Serve Waivers]

• At the conclusion of the blind bidding process, FCFS waivers commence.
• Owners can add players from the FA pool through the league site.
• All players added via FCFS waivers automatically receive a 1-year contract at the league minimum salary of $1000.00 and are not subject to RFA.
• All players are available until their respective kick-off time that week.

[5.2.3 Trades]

• Players and draft picks (including future picks up to 3 years) can be traded.
• During the regular season there shall be a trade deadline.
• The transaction must be completed on the league site prior to the official kick-off time of the first NFL game of week 9.
• A thread must be created on the LU forums to signify the trade as complete and to notify the league of the contract types to be assigned.

[5.2.4 Cut Players]

• Any players cut during the season are subject to waivers for 24 hours.
• The team who cut the player is not permitted to place a bid on the player, however, if no bids are made, they are free to add the player through the FCFS process.
• After 24 hours the player becomes subject to FCFS rules.
• To claim a player a thread must be started on the LU forum signifying the player and the salary you wish to bid.

[5.3 Injured Reserve]

• Injured reserve is an in-season designation only.
• Any player on the NFL IR, PUP or suspended list can be placed on IR.
• Players activated from these designations in the NFL need to be activated to the active roster.
• Failure to do so will result in penalties as outlined in clause 3.3.2.

 

[zombie jesus]

[6.0 Playoffs]

• Playoffs run from Week 14 to Week 16.
• The top 6 teams at the end of Week 13 participate.
• The bottom 8 teams will be split into pairs to compete for draft position.

[6.1 Championship Bracket]
Week 14
1 & 2 byes, 3 v 6 (loser eliminated), 4 v 5 (loser eliminated)
Week 15
1 v winner 4 v 5, 2 v winner 3 v 6
Loser 4 v 5/3 v 6 playoff for picks 7 and 8
Week 16
Week 15 winners playoff for Championship, winner pick 12, loser pick 11
Week 15 losers playoff for picks 9 and 10

[6.2 Draft Pick Brackets]
During Week 14 the remaining teams will playoff for draft position.
7 v 8 – picks 7 and 8
9 v 10 – picks 5 and 6
11 v 12 – picks 3 and 4
13 v 14 - picks 1 and 2

[6.3 Tiebreakers]

• Teams will be ranked via their win percentage.
• Ties will be broken via most points scored.
• If points scored are tied, head-to-head record will break the tie.
• In the event of a playoff game tie, the highest ranked winner will get the win.